PARTY LINES NOT A FACTOR IN PUERTO RICAN VOTE

Margarita Aviles is a registered Republican, but when she votes Tuesday, the Puerto Rican native says, she will cast her ballot for a Democrat.

"This isn't about party affiliation," says Aviles, 60, who lives in Fort Lauderdale. "I'm voting for Kerry because I'm not happy with the job President Bush has done. I have a nephew who has been in Iraq for a year, and I worry about him and all those other boys over there."

Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, the island retains its status as a U.S. commonwealth. Its residents aren't allowed to vote for president; nor do they have a congressional representative. Once they move to the mainland and establish residency, however, they can vote in all elections.

Aviles is among the estimated 571,000 Puerto Ricans living in Florida, whose fickle voting habits and burgeoning numbers make them among the most sought-after voting groups in the state.

"They are the real swing vote in Florida," says Dario Moreno, a political scientist at Florida International University.

If their numbers initially drew strategists' attention, their willingness to vote for a candidate regardless of party affiliation really put them on the political radar.

"They are in play, thanks to that willingness to move back and forth between parties," says Darryl Paulson, a political scientist at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. "They are now a force in Florida's politics that candidates can't afford to ignore."

Republicans and Democrats are investing time and money this election to woo Puerto Ricans throughout the state.

Both parties have spent heavily on Spanish-language television and radio spots in cities with large Puerto Rican populations such as Tampa and Orlando.

Similarly, Republicans were poised to release Spanish-language radio ads this week aimed at Puerto Ricans. In addition, Gov. Jeb Bush was host at a Viva Bush rally in Orlando earlier this year.

"I've been here 13 years, and I've never seen this kind of courting by both parties," says Frank Nieves, president of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Broward. He says he has received about 40 calls at home and work from both Republicans and Democrats asking him and the chamber to participate in events.

But with the attention has come a challenge: how to mobilize a community that is spread out geographically and politically.

"The majority of Puerto Ricans in South Florida came directly from the island and tend to be much more conservative," Moreno says, "while those who moved from New York are more liberal and tend to be Democrats because they came through a city with a bigger activist community."

Moreno's assessment resonates with Zaskia Mendez, a self-described independent who cares more about the candidates' take on social issues then their party affiliation.

"For me the three issues that matter most are national security, the economy and abortion," says Mendez, 40, of Royal Palm Beach. "So far, I haven't really heard that much on these issues from either candidate. But I'm leaning to George Bush because of his social values."

Whether conservative or liberal, some community leaders say the most effective way to court Puerto Ricans is simply to focus on issues that matter to them, much in the same way they have with Cuban-Americans.

"Here in Florida, the two parties have historically talked mostly about Cuba when they talk to Hispanics," says Raul Duany, a founding member of PROFESA, an association of Puerto Rican professionals. "Now you are finally hearing something else. But there has to be some real action and follow-up."

Duany, who voted for Bush in 2000, says he was heartened to hear Kerry bring up the issue of Puerto Rico's right to determine the island's status because it shows candidates taking a step beyond the tortilla politics that often lump Hispanics together.

Even those who don't view the island's status as a priority say the Puerto Ricans care about basic bread-and-butter issues that are often ignored when it comes to reaching Latinos.

"What brings people out to vote is their pocketbook," says former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, a Puerto Rican Democrat. "I think what Puerto Ricans want to hear about are issues such as education, health insurance and Puerto Rico's status."

Perhaps the biggest influence on the Puerto Rican vote this year will be the realization that they have power.

"I think you will see a bigger turnout, not necessarily because of the parties' work with us, but because this is our opportunity to send a message ... We are U.S. citizens, and we vote," Duany says.

Sandra Hernandez can be reached at shernandez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4514.